Novak Djokovic is currently competing in the 2020 Italian Open and has breezed past the second round. Moreover, the Djoker is preparing for Roland Garros which gets underway soon, but that doesn’t stop him from praising a fellow Serbian athlete, who just made history in the NBA! 

Novak has always been an admirer of every other sport besides his area of expertise. Likewise, he has a passion for the NBA, and his Serbian friend Nikola Jokic is tumbling records with the Denver Nuggets. 

Jokic helped the Nuggets beat the LA Clippers in Game 7, and marked multiple records during the process. Nikola Jokic racked up 16.0 points, 22.0 rebounds, and 13.0 assists in the game, to record his second triple-double in a playoff Game 7. No player in NBA history has ever done it before. 

Moreover, he reached his triple-double tally in just three quarters, which is just insane, and a record all by itself. In addition to it, Jokic is also the first player in history to secure 15+ rebounds in a triple-double! Along with Jamal Murray, Jokic effortlessly propelled the Nuggets to the Western Conference Finals for the first time since the 2008/09 season. 

While all this happened in the NBA bubble, Novak Djokovic couldn’t help but take pride in his countryman’s accomplishments. He recently took to Twitter and lauded Jokic for his incredible performance in the playoffs. 

“Joker is on fire. Bravo for a phenomenal return in both series! Let’s move on (translated from Croatian),”  Djokovic wrote, after which he added a Joker emoji to depict their common nickname. 

Novak Djokovic comments on his GOAT status  

Djokovic has 17 majors titles, ranking third in the list of men’s players with the most Grand Slams. In the past decade, he’s been completely dominant. From 2011-2016, the Djoker conquered the Australian Open, winning five times out of his six outings at Melbourne. But has the recent US Open debacle lowered Djokovic’s status on the GOAT rankings? 

“I don’t know, I leave that to other people and their judgment,” Djokovic said. ”I try to be honest, transparent, and respectful, try to represent the right values in life and something I grew up with.”

The 2020 French Open will be a challenging surface, but it lies as a proving ground for the Serbian. He’s only emerged as champion in Roland Garros once, but he certainly has the capacity to repeat it. Will we see Novak Djokovic conquer Paris or will it be the same old story of Nadal clinching the title?